Homophobia/Homosexuality in Advertising

Have you ever witnessed any form of sexual-based harassment? Have you ever seen any form of advertising (printed ads or commercials) that “somehow” laugh at homosexuality?

Look at this one:

Do you think this is homophobic? Why (not)?
What about this?

What do you think of it? There are lots of instances of ads that play on sexual inclination? Why do you think this is the case? If in the past most advertising agencies played on sexual innuendos, promiscuity, desire, the trend seem to have changed over the years. More and more ads/commercials play on the “diversity” and “flexibility” of the meaning of “couple”, “familiy”. Perhaps you are already familiar with the IKEA commercial.

Look at Elisa Pitton’s and Alessia Pezzutti’s power point presentations on homosexuality in advertising.

Now it is your turn to find an ad/commercial that can be read as homophobic and one that plays on sexual-orientation. Try to analyze it and express your own ideas.
I would like to devise with you a video to celebrate the International Day Against Homophobia. Do you have any suggestions? It would be nice to create slogans and write them on our T-shirts to be worn at school; we could take pictures of ourselves individually and then as a group. I know I can count on your creativity and technological skills. Let’s do something we can all be proud of. Let’s fight together against homophobia, it is a mandatory cause for our friends, our family members, for our friends’ friends. In other words it is the right thing to do if you do not want to infringe human rights, the right to be yourself, the right to love the person you wish, the right of being free, the right of being happy, the right of preserving your own identity and dignity. We should all have the right to be who we are and we want to be, shouldn’t we?

What does “coming out” mean? Why is it important to share your story or listening to somebody else’s story? Do you agree?

Go to the website mentioned in the video and choose a story you find ideal to “adopt”. You become the writer of that story and you write a letter in which you tell your story and you sign it in your name.

Look at this cartoon. What is its purpose? Do you find it effective? Why (not)?